Exploring the state-of-the-art in traceability within the leather industry with recommendations for future research

Chijioke Dike Uba; Angela Okeke; Oluwaseyi Omoloso; Folasade Mary Odusanya; Amin Hosseinian-Far; Ebenezer Laryea; Anne Lama; Emmanuel  Vanger; Deborah Taylor

doi:10.1007/s43621-026-03100-4

Exploring the state-of-the-art in traceability within the leather industry with recommendations for future research

Chijioke Dike Uba^*
, Angela Okeke
, Oluwaseyi Omoloso
, Folasade Mary Odusanya
, Amin Hosseinian-Far
, Ebenezer Laryea
, Anne Lama
, Emmanuel Vanger
, Deborah Taylor

^*Corresponding author for this work

University of Northampton

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

The leather industry faces mounting pressure to align with global sustainability and circular economy goals due to its resource-intensive and environmentally burdensome production processes. Traceability has emerged as a critical governance tool for enhancing transparency, accountability, environmental risk management, and sustainable value chain management; however, its conceptualisation and implementation in the leather sector remain fragmented. This paper systematically reviews the academic literature to examine how traceability contributes to transparency, sustainability, and circular economy transitions in the leather industry. Four thematic domains are explored: (i) conceptual and practical foundations of traceability; (ii) technological innovations such as RFID, blockchain, and IoT systems; (iii) the relationship between traceability and transparency; and (iv) traceability as an enabler of sustainability and circularity. The systematic review identifies a persistent gap between technological advancement and governance integration, as traceability initiatives often prioritise technical feasibility over systemic adoption and institutional alignment. The paper reconceptualises traceability as a socio-technical governance capability operating as a multi-layered governance infrastructure that can support environmental risk management and sustainability transformation across leather supply chains. Also, a pragmatic methodological positioning whereby systematic evidence synthesis is complemented by the Appreciative Inquiry strengths-based interpretive lens is applied exclusively to the discussion. Correspondingly, a research agenda that prescribes and describes a sequential pathway for advancing traceability scholarship and practice is proposed. The study concludes that scaling traceability as a transformative governance framework offers a viable pathway for the leather industry to transition from fragmented traceability experimentation toward integrated sustainability governance.

Original language	English
Journal	Discover Sustainability
Early online date	2 Apr 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-03100-4
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 2 Apr 2026

Bibliographical note

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Data Access Statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article itself.

Funding

This research was supported by funding from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), UNCTAD, and UK International Development and under the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) programme (Grant No. SMEP C_005c, call no. UONTP_001).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

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10.1007/s43621-026-03100-4Licence: CC BY 4.0

s43621-026-03100-4_reference (1)
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Accepted author manuscript, 622 KBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

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title = "Exploring the state-of-the-art in traceability within the leather industry with recommendations for future research",

abstract = "The leather industry faces mounting pressure to align with global sustainability and circular economy goals due to its resource-intensive and environmentally burdensome production processes. Traceability has emerged as a critical governance tool for enhancing transparency, accountability, environmental risk management, and sustainable value chain management; however, its conceptualisation and implementation in the leather sector remain fragmented. This paper systematically reviews the academic literature to examine how traceability contributes to transparency, sustainability, and circular economy transitions in the leather industry. Four thematic domains are explored: (i) conceptual and practical foundations of traceability; (ii) technological innovations such as RFID, blockchain, and IoT systems; (iii) the relationship between traceability and transparency; and (iv) traceability as an enabler of sustainability and circularity. The systematic review identifies a persistent gap between technological advancement and governance integration, as traceability initiatives often prioritise technical feasibility over systemic adoption and institutional alignment. The paper reconceptualises traceability as a socio-technical governance capability operating as a multi-layered governance infrastructure that can support environmental risk management and sustainability transformation across leather supply chains. Also, a pragmatic methodological positioning whereby systematic evidence synthesis is complemented by the Appreciative Inquiry strengths-based interpretive lens is applied exclusively to the discussion. Correspondingly, a research agenda that prescribes and describes a sequential pathway for advancing traceability scholarship and practice is proposed. The study concludes that scaling traceability as a transformative governance framework offers a viable pathway for the leather industry to transition from fragmented traceability experimentation toward integrated sustainability governance.",

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AU - Vanger, Emmanuel

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Exploring the state-of-the-art in traceability within the leather industry with recommendations for future research

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Access Statement

Funding

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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